Monday marks the end of the 60-day cease-fire between the United States and Iran, and as of Monday morning, things were already getting interesting. President Trump is calling on Iran to surrender, and claiming to now have an inside channel to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is interesting, since they have apparently seized control of what's left of Iran's military, as well as pulling at least some of the strings in Iran's civil government.
Monday morning, a Fox News piece gave some details of an interview of President Trump by Fox's Chief Foreign Correspondent, Trey Yingst.
The 60-day ceasefire deadline is expiring Monday, but President Donald Trump's resolve on ending Iran's nuclear weapons aspirations is not, he told Fox News on Monday morning, where he confirmed there is a backchannel for peace talks with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"They should put up the white flag of surrender," Trump said in a phone interview, confirming reports of the IRGC backchannel talks that bypass mediators and Iranian political officials.
While the 60-day ceasefire expires Monday, Trump said there is still time for peace and Iran's relenting to Trump's primary demand: "The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon," as he wrote on Truth Social around the time of the exclusive call with Fox News' Trey Yingst.
The looming midterms are doubtless causing any number of Republicans to have night sweats and palpitations as the scuffle with Iran drags on. Time, right now, would appear to work for Iran, not for the United States, as the Republican grip on the House of Representatives and the Senate is slim, and both houses of Congress are very much in play. President Trump indicates he's not concerned about the midterms:
While speculation swirls Iran is engaging in its decades-long strategy of running out the political clock on Trump, before the midterms, if not 2028, Trump rejected th
"Midterms have nothing to do with my thinking," he told Yingst.
To a certain extent, that's as it should be; partisan political considerations shouldn't drive foreign policy. But these aren't normal times, and the old saying about politics stopping at the shoreline doesn't seem to apply anymore. If the Democrats gain control of the House and/or the Senate, they could be a major impediment to any further action or even negotiation with Iran. The political upheaval would also, almost certainly, give Iran some cause for optimism. Time works for Iran, not for the United States in this matter, and when you add to that the likely new round of impeachment proceedings should Congress flip, then the second half of President Trump's term could be severely hobbled.
As of this writing, there has been no official word of any renewed military action against Iran. The president did, however, bring up another possibility.
Trump also issued an extraordinary warning to Oman when asked about the Gulf nation’s role in talks involving Iran.
"If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s--- out of them," Trump said.
Oman has been an on-again, off-again intermediary between Iran and the United States. Oman occupies a key position, across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, and has economic and military ties to the United States and the United Kingdom, and they have served in the role of mediator and facilitator in regional squabbles before this one. It's unclear how President Trump thinks they may interfere.
Monday, the day of this writing, is the day the cease-fire ends. Keep an eye on the Middle East. Things may be about to become very interesting.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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